The Chinese Basketball Association has started its season off with a bang—thanks in part to high-scoring NBA stars—but still ended its first night on a low note with J.R. Smith, formerly of the Denver Nuggets, suffering a knee injury.

Mr. Smith, known as “J.R. Shimisi” in China, scored 20 points on Sunday night before getting injured in the fourth quarter, according to local media, and is now in a disagreement with his new team over the injury. The team, the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, fell to the Guangdong Southern Tigers, 111-78.

It’s unclear how severe Mr. Smith’s injury is. Zhao Bing, the Golden Bulls’ general manager, said the player repeatedly declined medical treatment from the team and arranged his own treatment in Beijing instead. “We warned him that he’s not allowed to go to Beijing without a proper medical check,” Mr. Zhao said, expressing his displeasure at Mr. Smith’s disobedience. “He just wouldn’t listen.”

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Mr. Smith is “an experienced basketball player and a big name in NBA,” Mr. Zhao said. But “I think he should have been aware that CBA is not an easy game to play either.”

Mr. Smith is one of a number of NBA players who have gone overseas to play in the wake of disagreements with the American league over issues including revenue sharing that resulted in lockout on July 1. But while in other leagues, players have been able to negotiate opt-out clauses in their contracts, the CBA has required that NBA players complete a full season in China.

China has many basketball fans—300 million, according to the NBA—but was not known for attracting star players to its own league before this year, in part because of formerly low salary caps and quality of play.

There have been some exceptions. Last year, Stephon Marbury became the biggest name in American basketball to join the CBA when he signed with Shanxi Zhongyu for the end of the 2009-10 season. Known as“Ma Bu Li” in Chinese, Mr. Marbury defied expectations that he wouldn’t enjoy his time in China. He is now in his third season in China and thrived in the CBA in term of his popularity.

Mr. Marbury was named MVP of the CBA all-star game in 2010, and has nearly 143,000 followers on Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo, where he posts messages in English declaring his affections for China and his fans respond with professions of love and gratitude. He is playing this season with the Beijing Jinyu Ducks, the team to which Steve Francis was signed for just two weeks in the 2010-11 season before his contract was terminated.

Mr. Marbury scored 29 points for the Jingyu Ducks, which won 103-90 over the Jilin Northeastern Tigers on Sunday night.

Other NBA players who’ve arrived in the CBA this season due to the lockout include Wilson Chandler, formerly of the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, who scored 43 points for his new team the Zhejiang Lions, leading them to a 118-115 victory. Kenyon “Kenyang Mading” Martin has joined the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, which didn’t play on Sunday, and Aaron “Bulu Kesi” Brooks is expected to play for the Southern Tigers. Former Washington Wizards forward Yi Jianlian, who is from China, scored 17 points for the Southern Tigers in their victory over Zhejiang.

The Golden Bulls are likely hoping Mr. Smith follows Mr. Marbury in embracing the Chinese game, though the conflict over his injury is more reminiscent of Mr. Francis’s tenure in Beijing.

“We would like to improve ourselves through learning from the NBA players,” Zhejiang’s Mr. Zhao said of his star player’s refusal to heed the team’s medical protocols. “That was just the first game of the season. He really didn’t have to behave like this.”

Mr. Zhao posted a warning to Mr. Smith on Sina Weibo on Monday afternoon, saying the player should return to team as soon as possible “or face the consequences.” Mr. Smith responded in English less than an hour later, “My main goal is to get healthy! If you can’t understand that then maybe you should pick another profession!”

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